The country's political establishment (both on the Left and the Right) has forced predatory gambling onto working class, rural and urban Americans alike over the last twenty years, casting it as "an economic engine." One of the major results has been a lower standard of living for almost all of us, regardless whether you gamble or not.

Another tragic result has been the destruction of millions of American lives. Scott Stevens, the primary focus of The Atlantic story, is one of them.

It's inevitable that predatory gambling will be sunset in the United States. It's not a question of if but when.